In 1838, Henry Irby bought 202½ acres for $650, put in a general store and Buckhead was born.

The land was surrounding the present intersection of Peachtree, Roswell and West Paces Ferry roads. Erica Danylchak, executive director of the Buckhead Heritage Society, said most people do not realize Buckhead’s rich history.

Friday, the society will join forces with the Buckhead Business Association to host Buckhead’s 175th Anniversary Celebration: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow at the Buckhead Theatre.

She said they are anticipating 500 people and will raise more money than initially anticipated, somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000. The proceeds will go to the society and its development of history master plan for the community.

“The master plan will identify how we interweave history into greenspace [in Buckhead],” Danylchak said. She said they are working to pick certain historic stories to focus on in the plan.

“The Civil War history that’s here, some early settlements, industry history, architecture history,” Danylchak said. “What sites are most appropriate to tell those stories and how would we tell them?” She said emphasis is placed on signage but there are other ways to consider, such as digital applications, cell phone tours, walking tours, publications and brochures.

“We’re looking to flesh it out and come up with a list of stories and projects, and bring those to life for the community,” Danylchak said.

The party will feature some Buckhead residents’ old photographs, picked Feb. 9 at a historic photograph collection session. Danylchak said the society has also collected a few photos from local institutions like the Atlanta History Center and Heritage Sandy Springs, showing dramatic changes made in year past.

“The earliest [photo] is the Peachtree/Roswell split in 1910. There is a blacksmith shop right at the intersection where Triangle Park is today,” Danylchak said. “There are aerial views of the community. … There is one of the Lenox [Square] mall area from the 1960s with forest all around it.”

Guests of the cocktail party will enjoy drinks, food from local restaurants and a live band, the Atlanta Allstars. There will be a formal ceremony recognizing honorary co-chairs Charlie Loudermilk, co-founder and former chairman of Aaron’s and owner of the theatre, and Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition, as well as presenting the inaugural Buckhead Heritage Preservation Award and Volunteer Award.

“This function celebrates that heritage, that history. Buckhead is not a recent phenomenon,” said Brian Daughdrill, president of the Buckhead Business Association. “People look at Buckhead and say Buckhead gets all the breaks. … Buckhead is successful because for a century people have been putting their blood, sweat and tears into improving it.”

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